Welcome to LQ!
Figure out what kernel you actually are running with uname -r, make sure you have the source for that kernel installed (2.6.8 is not the same as 2.6.8.1 -- you appear to be running the former), and point the VMWare install to that kernel directory's includes. Since VMWare builds several kernel modules, it's important you get this right.
BTW 2.6.8 is the kernel version, not the version of Debian.
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